Friday Foto Friends: The Dance of The Sand Hill Cranes

 In my Thursday post I showed some pictures of the Sand Hill Cranes on our Still Waters Pond. I mentioned that it's time for them to start doing their courtship/mating ritual dancing, and that I would try to get some videos whenever possible.  Lo! and Behold! That same afternoon our resident couple flew in and started entertaining us with their dancing.  I hope you will be able to open these videos and enjoy the dance!

Please excuse the background traffic noise, as there is a busy highway just over behind those trees on the other side of the pond.  But do turn on your sound so you can hear the cranes' calls occasionally.

This is the first one:

And here is the 2nd one.

This is a very brief video, with one leap and call...I still thought it was worth watching and hearing!

Here's some information that I found on the computer:

The mating and courtship dance of Florida Sandhill Cranes is an elaborate, graceful display of synchronized movements, vocalizations, and acrobatics. [1, 2]

Key Elements of the Dance

Acrobatics: The birds leap high into the air with their wings fully or partially extended, jump up and down, twirl, and run in circles. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bowing and Posturing: They lower their heads in deep bows toward the ground, stretch their necks, fluff their feathers, and shake their tails. [1, 2]
Object Tossing: Cranes frequently pick up sticks, grass, or dirt with their beaks and toss them into the air. [1, 2]
Synchronized Calls ("Unison Calling"): The dance is often accompanied by loud, rattling calls, where the male and female coordinate their vocalizations (such as the female giving two calls for every one from the male). [1, 2]

Why They Dance

Courtship & Mating: The dance helps attract a partner and showcase strength, power, and protective instincts. [1, 2, 3]
Strengthening Pair Bonds: Sandhill Cranes mate for life (often staying together for 20 years or more), and bonded pairs continue to dance year-round to reinforce their partnership. [1, 2, 3]
Territoriality & Communication: As noted in discussions on platforms like Reddit, the movements are also used as a form of communication or to express stress, alertness, and territorial boundaries. [1, 2]

I hope you enjoyed this little display of courtship and love!  I do  hope our couple will be able to build their nest in our pond this winter as per their usual annual routine.  Stay tuned for more developments!

In case anyone has any doubts about where these amazing creatures came from...here's what God says to us in His Word, the Bible:

Genesis 1:20-28

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

I guess that passage should answer a LOT of questions for us! Amen!

We are off today to go meet my hubby's brother and wife for lunch at a half/way point, "The Mason Jar", about an hour's drive away, "over the river and through the woods". Benton and Rose will be going with us too. This will be our "Thanksgiving dinner" with them, as they have other plans on Thanksgiving Day. So I will have to catch up with you later!  Have a blessed weekend my friends!  

Friday Foto Friends: Tea Party with "KING" Blackie and More

 Good Afternoon Friends!  It's Friday...and as of this morning I didn't have anything new to share with you, and I thought, "I can't let a Friday go by without sharing some kind of pictures of something!"

So this afternoon I was feeling like I needed a little tea break anyway, and why not make it a tea party?

You will notice the little Dutch Windmill cookie above...I really like to have one of those with a cup of tea. They aren't too sweet and have just enough of a cinnamon/ginger/molasses and almond flavor to make them a perfect cookie to have with tea.  

And then I thought, well, if I am going to have a Dutch Windmill cookie, why not make it a Dutch Tea party?  So I started looking around to see what I had that was Dutch in the way of tea ware?

I have that cute little teabag holder and the wooden shoes that were birthday gifts from my sister in law and brother in law, brought back from their recent trip to Germany and Europe. I also had that tiny little miniature tea set...

And you can see the little saucer has a windmill on it as well...

I started looking at all of the various kinds of tea cups and saucers that I have, but I didn't have anything from The Netherlands or Holland or Denmark, but this petite little blue and white cup and saucer came from Finland, which I thought was close enough...

Actually, when I looked Finland up on the map, it was quite far from The Netherlands, etc., and I would've been better off to have used one of many tea cups I have from Germany, which is closer, but this little cup and saucer was the right shade of blue, so that was my choice.

Also, I needed a tea pot, and if you see the pictures above you will see the pretty blue teapot that I chose. This particular teapot actually came from my paternal grandmother's collection, and it is a Hall Teapot, made in the U.S.A.  (I think Hall teapots came from Ohio).   I have a small collection of Hall teapots, but this one is special because it was my grandmother's.

So I sat down in my rocking chair that is in the kitchen and prepared to have my little tea party by myself, and prop my feet up on this little needlepoint footstool, that also came from my paternal grandmother's home, and I believe she actually did the needlepoint that is on it. Isn't it beautiful?

Well, about the time I sat down and started to relax with my cup of tea, hubby opened the back door and Blackie came running inside because it was getting close to his supper time. He saw me sitting in the rocking chair and headed right for me.

When he got to the footstool, he rubbed up against it and walked around it ,  and then he climbed right up on top of it, even though my feet were already there...

He looked at me with those sad eyes as if to say, "You're having a tea party without me? And you are putting your feet up on this nice little stool that looks like it was made just for me?  How dare you!!"

And he proceeded to sit himself down on stop of the stool, 

wiggling around to get his whole body on there even though he practically hung off the end...

He turned himself around, trying to find the most comfortable spot...

And looked up at me daring me to make him move...

I got up from my chair and walked around so I could get a picture of him and so you could see how things were set up...

He didn't budge...

And he proclaimed, "I am here for the tea party!  How dare you not invite me in the first place! So now I will just sit here and sulk on my royal throne until you HURRY UP and finish your cup of tea, and then you must feed ME!!"

I said, "Yes, King Blackie! I will do as you say since you are seated on your royal throne and I dare not disobey!" LOL.

And so I slurped down my cup of tea and went and prepared his supper before he started biting my legs lightly, (which he was already doing...to let me know that his needs were more important than mine). 

Some one of our blogging friends mentioned to me something about a video by a cat behavior specialist that I should probably watch.  I believe I will be looking it up and doing just that! LOL.

So,  in reality, I did feed Blackie his supper, and then we put him back outside so that we could leave because hubby and I had already decided that we were going to go out to eat for an early supper at the new "Backwoods County Kitchen".  They have recently added Pizza and other such dishes as Calzones and Stromboli to their menu, and we've been wanting to try it out.  We wanted to wait and go with Benton and Rose sometime, but their current work schedules are making that impossible, so we decided to go by ourselves and check it out and then we can go again someday with "the kids".  

We decided to order the Supreme Stromboli and split it between us, because it was less expensive than the pizza and was probably more than enough food for just the two of us.

Here's hubby and our stromboli!

And here's me with our stromboli...

And here's my half of the stromboli after we cut it in half. Actually, after we looked at it, we decided this was in reality a Calzone and not the stromboli, because we were told the Stromboli had pizza sauce inside, and the calzone had ricotta cheese inside.  This had the cheese and no pizza sauce, so someone mixed it up, but we decided we liked this better anyway, and we also had plenty of marinara sauce to add to it as needed. It was VERY good, and also very filling!!  I would definitely get this again.

So that was our day!!  Now I am stuffed and should probably go take a walk around the yard for a while.

BTW: Remember last week when I told you about hanging this wind spinner in the yard HERE? 

 Well, after looking at it more closely, I realized I was supposed to open it up and make it more three dimensional, like this:

And so I decided to go ahead and hang it from the Shepherd's Hook closer to the pond, where I can see it from my window in my "Room With a View". When the wind blows it spins around and looks so pretty! So I am glad I finally fixed it to reach its full potential and do what it is supposed to do!

There must be a lesson there somewhere.  Sometimes in life we feel like we are just "hanging on by a thread", maybe looking pretty on the outside, but feeling kind of empty or lost on the inside, and like we aren't really living the life God intended for us to live. We can become discouraged and perhaps even a bit afraid to reach out and do the things we feel like we are supposed to do but we don't really know how to go about it.

And then Jesus came along, and when we confessed our fears and lack of faith to Him, He forgave us for not trusting Him enough, and He set us free from our bondage to fear and turned us around and gave us a little push in the right direction, and soon we were spinning right along, more beautiful in our Spirit than ever before, and serving Him with gladness and joy.  All it took on our part was a step of faith...and yielding our will to do His will.

Perhaps someone needs a little boost out there in the right direction. Here's a few verses I discovered from God's Word that might be helpful:

• James 4:7: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 
Romans 12:2: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." 
Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." 
Luke 9:23: "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.""


Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

These are just a few. God's Word is full of words of encouragement and hope. We just have to be willing to take that first step of faith, and to ask God to set us free from the things that bind us and are holding us back from following after Him.  He will not fail us...we just have to trust and obey!

Here's a great old hymn...I bet most of us know it...

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still

And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies

But His smile quickly drives it away

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear

Can abide while we trust and obey

Oh, Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet

Or we'll walk by His side in the way

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go

Never fear, only trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Oh, Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

And this is a good ending...

And 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take Him at His Word

Just to rest upon His promise

Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord"

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

Oh, for grace to trust Him more

Lord oh, for grace to trust You more

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Donald Moen / Dp

Okay friends, that about sums it up for this Friday!  I hope that your weekend will find you enjoying the blessings that God has provided, and may we all be looking for ways to "trust Him more". Amen.

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Good Evening Everyone! I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying special blessings of the week. We've been enjoying this week's cool morning temperatures in the mid 50's, and gorgeous sunny and cooler days.  It has actually felt like fall here in north central Florida! Hooray!!

The cup of tea says it well, "Thankful and Blessed".

I am combining two days because I am late on Thursday, and I don't know what tomorrow may bring...so I might as well "kill two birds with one stone".  Oh, maybe not a good way to start this post...but then look...there was this "murder of crows" out on Still Waters Pond this afternoon, and I guess that got me off to a more "sinister" beginning.  LOL.  Sorry about that.

Per Google: A "murder of crows" is the traditional collective noun for a flock of crows, rooted in old folklore and superstitions that associated the scavenging birds with death and battlefields."  It looks like these crows are definitely scavenging for something to eat on top of the dried up muck along the shore of Still Waters Pond.  The water in the background is still quite covered with algae, and I can only pray that we get some rain this weekend to help dissipate the algae and help the pond get back to being a "fresh water pond" again.  

The crows weren't the only ones out there foraging for food along the shore of the "pea soup pond".  Here's our resident Red Shouldered Hawk looking for something to eat...

Isn't that goldenrod plant lovely? Standing there all by itself, looking so proud and golden!

And here's that very handsome Hawk up in the tree! Isn't he gorgeous?

Some of you who are Facebook friends may have already seen some of these pictures the other day, but don't go away. I do have some new ones to show you as well.  I just didn't want the non-Facebook friends to miss out on anything important! 

Yes, sadly, everywhere there is water on the pond, it has been covered in an algae bloom. I looked it up to see if it is toxic, and I don't think this particular algae is toxic. It's just an ordinary algae.  Hopefully it will go away when the rains come.

The Muscovy Ducks don't seem to mind swimming and fishing in it...

My little buddy Blackie and I have been enjoying these beautiful cooler days by spending some time walking around the pond and yard, and sitting in the Secret Memorial Garden watching the birds.

This is my little "Open Window" in the garden...

Actually, this is what that is...and my zinnias are enjoying it so much.

The swing needs some work and I'm afraid to sit on it until it is fixed:

But Blackie and I enjoy sitting on the garden bench together.

This is our shady little sanctuary where we can watch the birds and feel the breeze and just pray and give thanks to the Lord for another day of life and love...

I am thrilled that the holly tree is loaded with holly berries. They are ripening up and getting ready for the migration of the birds heading further south for the winter...usually the Robins and Cedar Waxwings come flying through here in November.

Blackie likes to sharpen his claws and claim this planter box as HIS territory!

Then he lays down in the grass and gives me "the look". LOL.

And then when I am heading back inside the house he loves to run and roll in the white sand in our driveway, hoping I will come tickle his tummy...(which I do with my shoe/foot)

And then he tries to run into the house with me, covered in all that white sand...and well...nope! Not this time, buddy! Go roll in the grass and knock off that sand first! LOL.  He is still such a scamp!

And we love him. He's been one of God's special little blessings to us.

Another blessing this week...we were able to go and cast our ballots for the mid term elections...

We are very thankful to have the freedom and right to vote, and I pray that we never lose that privilege. I'm only sorry I wasn't wearing a RED sweater instead of a blue one. Only because I don't have a red sweater...

Please pray for our country...and please go vote to keep our freedoms intact.

After voting we stopped by our local grocery store, and they had some nice fresh apples on sale. (Fresh from somewhere up north, Michigan, I think, since we don't grow apples here in Florida, boo hoo).

Hubby said he would LOVE an apple pie! 

And it sounded good to me as well...so here you go:

And yes! It was as good as it looked, maybe even better!

Now here's a fall dinner...actually, our son Benton has been eating a lot of meals with us this week because his sweet wifey Rose is in Minnesota visiting her father and family up there, and so he's been over here for supper most evenings.   On this particular night we had Kielbasa and Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes and corn. Now if that isn't a fall dinner, I don't know what is! The only bad part was after that Benton and I had to go to choir practice with a full tummy of some very gassy cabbage! LOL.  

Then last night we had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and zucchini and onions. This plate was actually tonight's leftovers, so it doesn't look as pretty as it did last night. But it was still really good! 

Well, folks, I just went out and took this picture of the sunset before it totally slipped down behind the trees.  I can see a tiny bit of clear water there on the pond, giving a little bit of a reflection!! Oh, that makes me smile so big!!

Ephesians 1:3

3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..."

Amen.

One more thing to be thankful for...last year's mums continue to bloom! It's the little things that make me smile and say, Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me! Amen.

Good Night and Sweet Dreams.